1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to automotive vehicles, particularly of the passenger type, and to such a vehicle which includes laterally opening doors that are swingable or pivotal in an upward direction about a pivot axis established at the roof door jamb of the vehicle.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
In the past, it has been the conventional practice to provide ingress and egress to and from a vehicle by opening doors which are hingeable at the sides of the door jambs. The vast majority of automotive vehicles incorporate such a door hinge system. However, in other instances, it has been found desirable to mount access doors to the body of the vehicle by hinging the doors along the roofline of the door jamb.
Several attempts to provide such an upward swinging door for an automotive vehicle are known in the prior art such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,511,530 or U.S. Pat. No. 4,017,117. Although such doors have been useful for their intended purpose, several deficiencies and problems have been encountered which stem largely from the fact that the hinge supports are incorporated directly into the body structure which is a time-consuming and expensive proposition. The various supports and plates of the assembly are individually joined to the roof door jamb and no attempt is made to unitize or produce an assembly which may be readily incorporated into a door jamb in order to successfully support a swingable door. Such unitization is particularly important when it is desired to retrofit existing vehicles with upwardly swingable doors after the side swinging doors have been removed. The problems of converting an existing car body to such an upward swingable door arrangement must also include conformable fitting of the door so as to mate with the overall or general configuration of the body style. Furthermore, means must be incorporated which will releasably support the door in its upward or open position and other means must be provided for releasably locking the door in a closed position. All such elements of a successful upwardly swinging door combination must be unitized in a standard assembly so that installation can be provided in an economical and speedy manner.
Therefore, it is among the primary objects of the present invention to provide a novel upwardly swinging door arrangement for automobiles which will readily permit ingress and egress of occupants wherein the door may readily swing upwardly along a roof hinge line and wherein the hinge supports are unitized for ready installation. Door support and locking means are provided which augment the hinge arrangement so that the door may be releasably held in a closed or open position. Water draining means should be incorporated into the hinge assembly as well as adequate sealing about the periphery of the door when the door is closed.